Christina is finding her Little Voice

Few plays demand such particular casting as Jim Cartwright’s 1992 work The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, about a shy young woman with a particular gift for impersonating singing divas – a role that was originally written specifically for Jane Horrocks. So it’s great to hear that an upcoming touring revival has found the perfect person to take on the Little Voice mantle: American actress-cum-internet-singingsensation Christina Bianco, whose YouTube videos in which she does her own diva impressions have racked up more than 25million views worldwide.

Not surprisingly, given her specialist skill, Little Voice is a role she’s long hankered after, and she is primed to give it all the welly required when the show hits the road next year, having already got her impressions of the likes of Judy

Garland, Shirley

Bassey, Billie

Holiday and

Marilyn

Monroe down pat over the years

However the one singer who

Little Voice mimics that Christina has never impersonated before is Cilla Black, and she’s putting all her energies into capturing the Cilla magic, she tells me. ‘She’s a British icon and I absolutely have to nail the voice. I have got seven months to work on it. Please tell your readers all good thoughts and encouragement are appreciated!’ Meanwhile, singing aside, the challenge she’s currently grappling with is mastering a northern English accent. ‘There is an assumption that if you’re good at impressions, you’re good at accents. I cannot afford to have that assumption!’ Christina says. ‘I’ve already started having conversations in the accent at home. My husband’s name is Billy, which is also a character’s name in the show, so at least we know I’ve got that one down!’

I, for one, can’t wait to hear the results. The tour begins on March 23 next year at Southampton’s MAST Mayflower Studios. little voiceuk.com